Amnesty
International condemned the United States for
mistreatment of children in prison and the nation's determination to
execute young people convicted of capital crimes. Thousands of
children in US prisons are victims of human rights violations and 70
prisoners are waiting to be put to death in the United States for
crimes committed when they were minors, the organization reported on
November 17.

There have already been nine people killed in the United States since
1990 for crimes committed when they were children. That's the
same number as the total number executed under that standard in the
rest of the world combined ( Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and
Yemen are the other countries which have the death penalty for crimes
committed by children).

Amnesty accused US prisons of physical brutality to minors, locking
children in solitary confinement, and keeping young people incarcerated
for long periods while they wait for trial.

"Over four thousand children are in adult prisons where they are
notoriously at risk of physical and sexual abuse," said Amnesty.
"Excessive use of incarceration is a matter of grave concern because of
its inherent risks to the physical and mental integrity of children and
its potential for negative influence rather than rehabilitation."

Children are often imprisoned for trivial reasons, according to the
human rights organization. Amnesty quoted the cases of a
13-year-old girl imprisoned for suspected possession of marijuana,
which turned out to he oregano, a 16-year-old girl who was sent to
prison for refusing to attend school and a boy of 12 arrested after
harassing someone by telephone.